Case Reports

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Jonathan Dowdall against the four-year sentence handed down to him for his involvement in the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel. The court held that the sentence was “very lenient” and was within the available range open to the Spec

The High Court has refused to place a stay on a costs order obtained against litigants who had brought proceedings alleging that the Covid vaccine was a plan by Bill Gates to depopulate the Earth. The State successfully opposed a motion brought by the litigants for a protective costs order on the ba

The Court of Appeal has held that a fund was entitled to argue in the course of well-charging proceedings that the debtor created an equitable charge over the property. The High Court had determined that the plaintiff could not raise this argument because the plaintiff was not able to rely on a lien

The UK Supreme Court has held that a high street bank did not have a duty not to carry out a customer’s instructions if it had reasonable grounds for believing that customer was defrauded after an appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal of England & Wales finding that such a duty

Northern Ireland’s High Court has found that several curfew provisions added to a probation order by a probation officer were unlawful. The court determined that such curfews could only be imposed by the court, and attempting to enforce them without a legislative basis or court order was unlaw

The High Court has placed MAC Interiors into examinership despite the fact that the company was registered in Northern Ireland and therefore outside the European Union. The company had claimed that a combination of factors including the pandemic, losses in a Liverpool development and global supply c

The family of a man who died of cardiac arrest who alleged that the NHS Scotland health board responsible for his treatment was vicariously liable for his death has lost an appeal to the UK Supreme Court challenging a decree of absolvitor granted to the board. Jennifer McCulloch, wife of the late Ne

The High Court has set aside judgment in default of defence obtained on foot of an unless order due to the very difficult personal circumstances experienced by counsel during the period in which a defence was to be delivered. The court held that special circumstances existed in the case to set aside

The Circuit Court has awarded €2,000 to an employee for non-material damage arising from a data breach by his employer. The plaintiff was identifiable in a training video relating to unacceptable work standards which was seen by management. Delivering judgment in the case, His Honour Judge John

The High Court has ruled that the Health Service Executive did not owe a duty of care to the parents of a woman who died from cervical cancer following an alleged misdiagnosis in the cancer screening process. The HSE had argued that the decision in Morrissey v. Health Service Executive and Ors. [201

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against a coroner’s decision not to grant properly interested person status (PIP) to a witness during a death inquiry. The coroner found that the survivor witness did not have sufficient grounds for the elevated status, as the in

The High Court has awarded €69,000 in damages to a delivery driver who suffered a knee injury after stepping into a pothole while alighting his vehicle. The defendant was Tipperary County Council which was the authority in charge of the road. Delivering an ex tempore judgment in the case, Mr Ju

The High Court has ruled that an applicant was not entitled to an order restraining his prosecution for an assault allegedly committed as a child despite culpable prosecutorial delay by the authorities. The incident occurred in May 2017 when the applicant was 16 years old but he was only summonsed b

The High Court has dismissed a personal injuries action brought against a school by a former student alleging negligence in the conduct of a PE class. The student claimed that a relay race had been organised negligently and, as a result, he fell into a wall. Delivering judgment in the case, Ms Justi

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rejected a reference brought by the Northern Ireland Director for Public Prosecutions (NI DPP) which alleged that a 9-year sentence, for counts including the rape of a child, was unduly lenient. The court found that although the sentence was at the lowest